o8 



[July, 1908. 



LIVE STOCK. 



MODERN DAIRY PRACTICE. 



By Loudon M. Douglas. 



(Paper read at the Thirteenth Ordinary- 

 Meeting of the Roval Society of Arts on 

 Wednesday, March 4, 1908.) 



The dairy industry is on the eve of 

 great alteration in consequence of a 

 widely-spread propaganda, which has 

 been gathering in force during recent 

 years. From many quarters attacks 

 have been made upon the procedure in 

 connection with modern practice, and it 

 is only right to say that the majority 

 of these attacks have been justified. 

 The attitude of the milk producer at the 

 present moment may be set down as 

 hostile to the recognition of the results 

 arrived at by scientific investigation. 

 It is stated, for example, in a reeent 

 paper read before the Farmers' Club, 

 that amongst the causes which contri- 

 buted to the great attention at present 

 being paid to the milk supply may be 

 mentioned " exaggerated statements 

 contained in sensational articles appear- 

 ing in a section of the press as to the 

 conditions under which milk is produced, 

 and the dangers attending its consump- 

 tion." It is only right to say that no 

 proof whatever is given of the exag- 

 gerated statements referred to, and I 

 have been unable to find in any of the 

 newspaper articles indicated justifica- 

 tion for this statement. On the other 

 hand, it has been clearly shown by such 

 investigators as Dr. E. C. Sehroeder that 

 the milk supply is constantly being 

 contaminated with tuberculous germs 

 derived from cows which to all appear- 

 ances are in a healthy condition. It has 

 also been found that 91 per cent, of the 

 people who die are affected to a more or 

 less degree with tuberculosis, although 

 that may not be the immediate cause of 

 death. Considering, therefore, that 

 this disease is so prevalent everywhere, 

 and that it may be milk-borne, it seems 

 only right that the milk-consuming 

 public should get an article which is 

 pure. It is no argument to say that 

 because certain obsolete methods of 

 handling milk have obtained for gener- 

 ations, they ought, therefore, to continue. 

 On the other hand, when they are shown 

 to be wrong, it is quite clear that they 

 should be fortwith abolished. 



A great deal of attention has been 

 devoted in recent years not only to the 

 providing of a pure milk supply, but 

 also to the breeding of cattle, and, as we 

 know, immense improvement has been 



made in that direction. It is rather 

 difficuli. to state what is looked upon as 

 the average yield of all the different 

 bi eeds of milking cows, but it is safe to 

 sav that the quantity ranges between 

 300 and 800 gallons, on the average, 

 during the period of lactation. In many 

 countries, however, it has been shown 

 that by careful selection it is possible to 

 increase the milk yield to an enormous 

 extent,, and, bearing in mind the figures 

 which I have quoted, it is of interest to 

 know that, what might be described as 

 the world's champion co;v, has been 

 authoritatively tested, and has shown 

 the gigantic yield of 2,743 gallons, or an 

 average daily yield of 7i gallons. The 

 name of this cow is worth remembering; 

 it is Colantha 4ths Johanna, and the 

 Dutch breed, to which this animal be- 

 longs, have carried off the bulk of the 

 honours in milk yield throughout the 

 world for a good many years. 



They are, however, as susceptible as 

 other cattle to tuberculosis, and in one 

 of the largest byres containing these 

 animals which I have visited, at Nasby- 

 holm, in the South of Sweden, I was 

 told that the owner of this herd started 

 in 1895 to apply the tuberculin test, and 

 found that out of the first twenty-two, 

 twenty-one of them reacted. Deter- 

 mined, however, to provide a tuber- 

 culosis-free herd and a tuberculosis- 

 free milk, the owner steadily continued 

 to apply the tuberculin test until he has 

 at the present day the distinction which 

 few can claim either in his own country 

 of Sweden or in any other country, 

 namely, that his cattle are quite free 

 from this insidious disease. Nearly all 

 the milk of this particular herd is sold in 

 Malmo, and is retailed in glass bottles 

 at the equivalent of about 2d. per pint, 

 and I need hardly say is in great demand 

 there. 



With regard to other countries, it may 

 be said that there are many efforts being 

 put forth to realise the ideal of pure 

 milk, and to those who were privileged 

 to be present at the International Dairy 

 Conference held at The Hague in the 

 autumn of last year, it must have been 

 evident that the enthusiastic study 

 which the various milk problems re- 

 ceived, not only from the scientific men 

 who were present, but from practical 

 farmers also, meant much progress in the 

 dairy industry in the various countries 

 to which they belonged. 



It will be of interest to quote one or 

 two of the findings of this conference, as 

 indicating the trend of opinion on these 



